Thank you for attending the Immunology Scientific Conference | November 10-12, 2023
Thanks for attending this year’s Immunology Scientific Conference 2023 at Asilomar! We hope you enjoyed this opportunity to learn and connect with 200+ graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. Our keynote speaker Mark M. Davis, Director of the Stanford Institute for Immunology, Transplantation and Infection (ITI), a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, encouraged us to "think outside the cage." Ellen Robey, Professor of Immunology and Pathogenesis in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at UC Berkeley, shared how T cell fate determination in the thymus takes a multi-omic approach.
The First Years battled faculty in the song trivia game, jeopardy and impromptu scientific presentation. First Years dominated this year's competition.
Congratulations to the following:
The McDevitt Awardees: Amy Fan, PhD, Majeti Lab, Genetic blood disorders and inflammation: Characterizing cell autonomous & non-autonomous contributions of RUNX1 loss in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis; Katie Freitas, PhD, Mackall Lab, Enhanced T cell effector activity by targeting the Mediator kinase module
The Jones Teaching Awardee: Alea Delmastro, Jagannthan and Angelo labs
The Service Awardee: Adonis Rubio, Barnes lab
Best Posters:
Graduate student: Gabe Barron, Howitt Lab, The role of follicular-associated tuft cells on Peyer’s patch dynamics
Postdoc: Ruoxi Pi, PhD, Blish Lab, Engineering natural killer (NK) Cells to target Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) reservoirs
Staff: Shani Jahanbani, Robinson Lab, Increased macrophage phagocytic activity with TLR9 agonist conjugation of an anti- Borrelia burgdorferi monoclonal antibody and Claudia Macaubas, Mellins Lab, Natural killer (NK) cells in patients with Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS)
Best Talks:
Graduate student: Savannah Lewis, Microbiology and Immunology, Jagannathan Lab, Evaluating the impact of natural killer cell phenotype, malaria diversity and transmission, and erythrocyte polymorphisms on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity
Postdoc: Rebeca Arroyo Hornero, PhD, Idoyaga Lab, A fraction of human plasmacytoid dendritic cells transdifferentiate into conventional dendritic cell type 2 following activation
Thank you to the Conference Committee for your dedication on making the event a success, including Conference Directors: Jennifer Bando and Nathan Reticker-Flynn; Social Chairs: Second Year Class, Norma Gutierrez, Audrey May and Evan Maestri; Conference Committee: Lina Hansen, Olivia Martinez, and Torye Nguyen; Staff Support: Rita Robinson, Cindy Limb, and Lynn Galicia; and Technical Support: Candace Liu.
